How to build a T Rex

Posted most of these over in the AK regional thread but I think these pertain here too And I really like these pics of my truck!

Some sweet pics of our AK group Sutton trip from a few weekends back!

 

Nice. Like the chrome wheels.

 

Those are some great shots! Makes me a little jealous that I live in the desert, but then again I hate the cold, lol.

 

Nice build. If Alaska was closer to California, I'd defiantly be wheeling there a lot!

 

thanks!

Most of the photo credits go to my awesome roommate who stood in the cold to take pictures of me

I took a few though!

 

You have sand around there, right? Almost like snow but warmer

 

So decided to take the truck out of commission this weekend and bum rides to all my soccer and hockey (which I scored the wining goal in a tournament against the formerly number one ranked team... Sorry, kinda excited... only been playing for 2 months and it was my first goal ever) games this weekend from my awesome friend.

Anyway, got a thin lip satoshi done and smoked the taillights (which I got my awesome roommate to help with... "hiii roomiiiieeee... you look bored, wanna help?" "um, sure?" "Awesome! See this bottle of buffing agent? Buff the shit out of those tail lights".... 30 minutes later (they looked great at this point btw) "Annaaaaa my hands hurt" Ummm yeah. I failed to mention that is usually the secondary result.

anyway, on to the exciting part!

Grill mesh from customcargrills.com These guys are great to work with! Highly recommended to order from them if you plan to do your own grill. Also, while I am at it, I got all the info I needed about taking my grill apart from Homertaco's vendor page.


Inner and outer grill pieces apart. (used a dremel to grind down the plastic weld joints)


No going back now... inside of grill=gone!


Marking where to cut for the thin lip. No body filler needed and hopefully plenty of room for my light bar when it comes!


Neon zip ties! (I love bright colors.... they show through a little from certain angles but i will probably leave them)

In the mean time.... I was also painting behind the grill

Couldn't find my drop cloth... looked everywhere. so I used the cardboard the grill mesh came in and some trash bags. this is gonna look sweet once I relocate the horn. (If you havent figured it out by now and have looked at the rest of my build... I LOVE blue)

Also, I was painting my taillights

In my bathroom because it has a vent and that qualifies it as a well ventilated area, right? I have no garage and it is about 20 degrees out... no outside painting for me

Process I followed for these wasss....
1) clean off the lense
2) spray two LIGHT layers of VHT nighhtshade on lense
3) Spray about a million (ok 8) layers of clearcoat on
4) wetsand with #800 and then #1500
5) have awesome roommate buff while freaking about about not being able to get the rest of the truck done in time to go to work on Monday

I also repainted the outer grill while I had it all apart. It had some weird paint damage at the top so I just repainted it all. Got color matched BSP (#206) at napa. Sanded it all down, put on a few layers, wetsanded, few more layers, then clearcoated the shit out of it. Still need to wetsand and buff the final but I ran out of time and that can happen later....

anndddddd at 9 pm on Sunday, I was out in the cold putting it all back together


Can really see the blue with the flash on....

Pics from the next day!






Can't wait to relocate the horn and get my lightbar in

Guess I should wait until i actually receive my lightbar before I get too excited

 

looks good

 

Couple more pics of my handy work

 

Awesome work with the truck and well done with the grill! I'l looking to do the same with mine. I bought my mesh from HomerTaco but haven't done it yet. Lovin' your work!

 

Well, just got back from a month long work trip and had some time to put some of the stuff that has been arriving in my absence on the truck

Got these in the group buy



Also, got a handful of these for some of the AK members Everyone's is a little different of course... I wouldn't share my " T Rex Edition"



Now we will have an even easier time identifying each other when we are driving around town

Still have a small pile and some stuff on the way. Just in time for some muddin!

 

In dire need of a better wash but its breakup in Alaska so what can ya do....

Got my emblem back on after the thin lip satoshi upgrade

 

Nicely done! The grill work and the bathroom paint booth set up is awesome!

 

Went to a buddy's house and got my sliders all assembled



Just needs some paint and to find a professional to modify my frame.

Gettin the toys out for the summer

 

Got some sun so I cleaned the truck up pretty good this weekend. Still need to do a spring time clay bar on it... maybe next weekend

 

Swapped leaf packs last night with a lot of help from a couple of members on here. 4 hours, a lot of sweat, and some blood later, the Dakars were installed

Measurements (center of hub to bottom of fender):

Before (AAL): 24.25 in

After (Dakars): 25.25 in



Next will be UCAs and some rear shocks to go with the Dakars.

 

Went wheelin the other day. To answer the question about the tires, they were pretty capable in the sloopy mud. got good traction! Very pleased with the all-around performance of these tires! I have used them in all situations that I can think of getting myself into and they do well.

someone got a little too ambitious...


finally got to use my recovery strap


gonna need a new clutch even sooner now.... Been slippin anyway.


an hour later.... Stuck truck actually started up and drove home!


Took my truck home and got mud all over the parking lot


Everyone loves a dirty black taco... errm ... ya

 

Some of those sunset pictures are really cool. Alaska is beautiful.

 

lookin' for ideas for next project...
sub'd

 

Ya do your satoshi yet? .